Park Newsletter

This is a great Growth Mindset statement as we enter M-Step season and the end of the school year! It can be hard to continue to give it your all once it starts to warm up outside. As we venture into testing season at school, remind your student they can do Tricky Tasks!!

• April 29 - Park's Art Show

• Fri. May 9 Early Release 12:15PM

• Wed. May 14 Parent Club Meeting 9AM

• Fri. June 6 Early Release 12:15PM LAST DAY!

M-Step Testing Dates

3rd Grade:

ELA Testing: May 13, 14, and 15 in the mornings

4th Grade:

ELA Testing: April 29, 30, and May 1 in the mornings Math Testing: May 6, 7, and 8 in the mornings

PreK/Kindergarten Enrollment Information 2025-2026 School Year

Welcome to Hudsonville Public Schools. We are thrilled you have chosen HPS as the destination for your child’s education. We value parent partnership immensely, and we are excited to begin the journey of education with you and your child.

Step 1 - Enroll online

Online registration for prekindergarten and kindergarten for the 2025-2026 school year will be available on our website (www.hudsonvillepublicschools.org) beginning on January 13, 2025. To be eligible, children must be five years of age on or before December 1, 2025.

When you are completing the online registration, you will be required to upload the following documents. Please refer to the Enrollment tab for more details.

❏ Original birth certificate with raised seal

❏ Photo ID of parent or guardian registering student

❏ Proof of residency (i.e. utility bill, tax statement, house buy/sell agreement, lease agreement)

❏ Health Appraisal Form which includes dates of immunizations and vision/hearing testing (due by August 15, 2025)

❏ Kindergarten Oral Health Assessment (completed within six months of the first day of school). CLICK HERE to download the form for your dental office to complete or attend one of the Ottawa County Health Department clinics to be held within the district. CLICK HERE for a flyer with dates and location.

Placement Preference

The online registration will include a place for parents to indicate their PreK/K placement preference. Final placement determinations will be made after Step 3, Kindergarten Screening Process, noted below.

North and south elementary school PreK locations will be determined prior to the start of the school year.

Oral Health assessment was new this year for the State of Michigan along with a Health Assessment an Oral is Health assessment is also required for your child to enter school. Please see scheduled clinic times in the letter below for your convenience.

Our first Park Bike Bus was a blast! Join us again every Friday morning at the Hudsonville Library before 8:20 am if you want to join us! For safety reasons, please remind your child(ren) not to pass the grown up who is leading the bike bus. It’s super important to stay behind the leader in the yellow vest! Also, please make sure to communicate with the office and teacher if you change your usual routine and ride bikes home after school.

Staff Appreciation Week is quickly approaching and we have some exciting things planned for our amazing Park Staff.

Staff Appreciation is May 5-9

This year we have planned: Parkbucks (coffee bar), Apple bar, Room Service, Charcuterie boxes, and Crumbl mini cookies. Please sign up if you would like to help spoil our staff throughout the week:

https://signup.com/go/TCYHHTn. Please send all items in by the date you signed up for (either Friday, May 2 or Monday, May 5).

Thank you for your support!

Our LAST Park Skating Party is May 1 from 6:15-8:15pm at Tarry Hall in Grandville. Join us for some fun!

We are excited to offer Park Elementary shirts and sweatshirts for students and parents! Orders at due May 7! Here is the link to order.

Like our Facebook page! https://www.facebook.com/ParkParentsClub

Open House:

Tuesday, February 4, 2025, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Early Childhood Center, 5535 School Ave. (main entrance off Madison Ave.)

This is a chance to gather information about our programs, meet staff, and visit the Early Childhood Center. There is no formal presentation and children are welcome.

Programs:

• 3 Year Old Preschool

• 4 Year Old Preschool, including 4 Year Old “PreK for All” FREE Preschool

• Before/After School Care

• Summer Care

Online Registration:

Wednesday, February 5, 2025, at 12:00 p.m.

Registration link at hudsonvillepublicschools.org under “Schools/Early Childhood Center”

A $50 fee per child is due if enrolling in a tuition-based program.

For more information, please email eccoffice@hpseagles.net or call the Early Childhood office at 616-797-0842, ext. 1.

The Annual Education Report (AER) is designed to meet state and federal requirements for reporting to parents and communities. The report provides detailed data on state administered student assessment results, accountability results, teacher qualification information, and the state results for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

Parents and the community can access AER information for the district and individual schools by clicking

on the Annual Education Report tab on our website. If you have any questions regarding the AER information, please contact your child’s building principal.

See the new opportunities! Summer Brochure

Hunger does not take a break in the summer! Summer EBT is now called SUN Bucks, and is again available to children who have an APPROVED Education Benefits form (formerly called the Free-Reduced Meal Benefit Application). A household can receive $40 per month per child in June, July, and August 2025 (for a total of $120 per child). Benefits will come in the form of preloaded cards that families can use to purchase groceries.

Summer EBT benefits will be issued to students who have a completed and approved Application for Meal Benefits. Apply by April 15, 2025, to be eligible for the first issuance of benefits in May. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until August 31, 2025.

If you already have an approved application, automatically receive Free or Reduced Meal Benefits, or already receive EBT Benefits, you do NOT need to re-apply.

Completion of the form does not automatically qualify your student for the summer benefits. These benefits will be based on annual incomes and household size as noted by you on the form.

If your address has changed this year, be sure to update it with your school to ensure your benefit card is sent to the right address.

This WILL NOT impact your student receiving free breakfast and lunch at school.

Click HERE for Income Guidelines to see if you might qualify.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY FOR BENEFITS!

If you have any questions, please contact Food Service at foodservice@hpseagles.net or 616-457-2400.

Parents, please review our district wide Student/Parent Elementary Handbook. This is new this year and is full of great information that may answer many questions. Please take a look and let me know if you have any specific questions regarding this handbook. Some notable items are listed below:

• Student dress code prohibits clothing promoting alcohol, violence, etc. Additionally, dress code prohibits bare midriffs, sides, or backs.
• Cell phones and smart watches are not allowed at school. They need to be powered down and in backpacks during school hours.

• School begins at 8:45 a.m.

• Parent drop off: no earlier than 8:35 a.m.

• School ends at 3:45 p.m.

• Office hours: 8:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.

Did you know that we accept doctors notes when your child returns from an appointment? If your child has an extended illness or attends an appointment and the absence is accompanied by a doctors note the absence will not be flagged as truant. Under Hudsonville Pubic School guidelines if a student is above a 10% ratio of absences at any point during the school year a truancy (attendance) letter will be sent home. A doctors note makes it so the absence is not counted as part of that 10%.

In order to receive text messages from Park and HPS, you will need to Opt-in. Please see this link to Opt-in to text messages so you don't miss any important information.

How do recipients opt-in to receive text messages?

1. Text “YES” to 68453 from each phone or device from which they wish to receive texts.
2. Confirm that your phone is on file at your school

How do recipients opt-out of receiving text messages?

Recipients not wishing to receive text messages to a particular number can simply do one of the following:

1. Don’t opt-in, and don’t reply to the opt-in invitation message.
2. Text “STOP” to 68453 at any time.
3. Opt out online at http://schoolmessenger.com/txtmsg
4. Request that the SchoolMessenger system administrator adds the number to the account’s phone number block list.